To Scotland

Our first day out of Bangor was only about 25 miles, to Glenarm, one of the quaint coastal villages we had driven through on our road trip up the Antrim coast.  Adding to the local color was the Frenchman on the boat moored next to us performing an evening bagpipe recital. 

Glenarm put us in a good position to cross the North Channel over to Scotland, our plan for the following day.  The islands of SW Scotland are among the very best sailing in all the UK,   Our first stop was Port Ellen on the Isle of Islay,  which we reached after 8 hours of light wind motoring. 

Raising the Scottish courtesy flag

islay is famous for its 8 whisky distilleries.  The next day we took the bus a couple of miles down the road to the Ardbeg distillery, where we took a tour, and had lunch in their restaurant.  After lunch, we walked back to the boat, stopping by the Lagavulin and Laphroig distilleries to sample their wares.

The next Island North is the Isle of Jura, which of course deserved a visit.  We arrived in time to visit the Jura distillery, and then wandered over to the pub, where we met the crews of a few of the other boats moored near us.  Our Jura was a minor celebrity.

Emily, Jura, and some new friends

Our next planned stop was Crinan, which is the start of the Crinan Canal, which we planned on passing though the following day.  Because of the timing of the currents, we would either need to leave at first light the following day, or late in the afternoon.  The merciless captain opted for the former, and all adult crew were up before 6 to get us underway. 

After the crew scurried back to bed, I enjoyed a beautiful morning, being swept by the current northwards.

The early start gave us some time to enjoy the day, and I decided to visit a marina a few miles north, called Ardfern.  We ended up tied up just in front of the only other boat all month we have seen flying a Canadian flag.  The owners told us something we were already aware of, which is that our Canadian flag was much to small for our boat.  A while later they came by, bearing the gift of a much larger flag.

We spent a nice few hours in Ardfern, and then headed back south the 5 miles to Crinan.  We went through the first lock, and spent a peaceful night in the Crinan basin.

Crinan Basin